Angela Beevers welcomes us to this whirlwind of a one woman show by personally greeting each guest through the door with a surreally sincere “Thank you for coming to my mothers funeral, it means so much to us”.
We are immersed in Beevers’ world with a backdrop of a powerpoint presentation that will recount the night before her mothers funeral, back home in her childhood bedroom, trying to write a eulogy. She is dressed in a dressing gown and sweatpants and surrounded by her mothers possessions – belly dancing costumes and bright red wigs. This show is a comedy/musical/manic grief counselling session with sparkly dark comedy and ‘maybe-I-should-not-have-said-that’ family stories.
The set is broken up by alarms showing how deep into the night we are getting and reminding her to get back on track with her writing (which of course is hopeless). She spins pop-culture, cancer, and karaoke with an energetic talent. Multiple stories appear and develop throughout the night: her own situationships, being a “Hollywood bitch”, and of course her mothers life of composing of sexual musicals (don’t worry… you’ll get to sing along!). After trying everything, she only finds what she must not say in a eulogy.
But despite the raunch and cackling laughter, she manages to show her love and care for her mother. I was not expecting to be moved, I was expecting emotions to be shoved under jokes, under jokes, and under jokes, but she speaks freely and it makes the show a perfect eulogy.
Absurdist, highly enjoyable, and emotionally dark.
How to Write a Eulogy That Kills is running Aug 6-13, 15-27, at 23:00 in the Snug at Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose. Tickets available here: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:4936/
Image courtesy of Joseph Canoza, provided to The Student as press material.